


we'll walk through life together

by simonsjumpers



Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: "there would never be anyone for me but you", F/M, First Kiss, Getting Together, Shirbert, Sorry pen I left you out, The Blythe orchard is the only thing keeping me alive right now, how bout them apples, please, season 3 ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-31 07:10:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21442252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simonsjumpers/pseuds/simonsjumpers
Summary: "It will always be you, Anne."After hearing rumours of Gilbert's broken courtship with Winnifred, Anne somehow ends up at the Blythe house, where Gilbert is waiting for her.orHow I imagine Season 3 is going to end for Anne & Gilbert aka THE ORCHARD SCENE.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 6
Kudos: 317





	we'll walk through life together

**Author's Note:**

> This was semi-inspired by a comments section conversation I had with crazy_little_monster on their fic 'Riding trains and other activities' which is really sweet.

Things had changed, irreversibly. Anne knew. Gilbert knew. But they had yet to really acknowledge it. Truthfully, Anne was worried if she did, she’d lose him completely. Recently their friendship had felt very fragile. And while Anne was used to putting her foot in it with him and saying the wrong thing, she had never worried about losing him.

But there was _so much_ that they hadn’t talked about it was weighing both of them down. Every time she saw him now, she could feel herself sinking under all the things left unsaid.

_The way she’d felt while dancing with him, and the knowledge that he had certainly felt it too. _

_The shift between them on the porch, the leaning in. _

_“Just one thing.”_

All of it left unsaid.

Anne was in love with him, and she had loved him for a while. As a friend, as a kindred spirit – someone who had lost as much as her but still had as much to give. She loved him so much that she would not let him throw his dream away. He would marry Winifred, and she would support that. She would not go running to the Blythe household to confess her innermost desires to Gilbert; she would not make it harder for him than it already was.

So she had kept quiet and cordial with him. Even when he ran all the way from his house with the exam results clutched in his hands and the news that they had tied, she had maintained a proper distance from him and used an appropriate manner. By his eyes, she could tell he had been disappointed with her indifference to him.

_He is not yours_, she reminded herself, _you’re doing this for him_.

Tragical romance. She would see to that.

She kept herself busy. Ka’Kwet and her people had asked for support in exposing the residency school, and Anne had gladly given it. They spent weeks campaigning, saving kids and returning them to families. Ka’Kwet took the lead, and Anne was by her side, helping her change the world. A relentless thorn in the side of injustice she would become.

It had been sad to say goodbye to Ka’Kwet. But her people were keen to travel and investigate other residency schools, and while Anne had been invited, she couldn’t join them this time. Anne was determined to make a difference, and she thought a Queens’ education was the best way to help in the long run.

Home and with two weeks until the term began and she was due to move to Charlottetown, Anne drifted about aimlessly. On Monday, she was alone. Marilla, Matthew and Rachel had gone to Charlottetown. For Matthew, business. For Marilla, a check-up with the oculist. And for Rachel… well, Anne wasn’t sure why Rachel was going. They had returned the following day all in high spirits. Anne was sat at the table fruitlessly balancing cards on top of each other when Rachel had burst through the door with all the latest news from the capital.

A new florist had opened. Mrs Spencer had had twins. Oh, and she’d overheard Gilbert Blythe ending a courtship with that beautiful young lady who’d accompanied him to the fair.

Anne hadn’t been listening before but one mention of Gilbert Blythe and for once she found herself invested.

“Sorry, what did you hear Gilbert Blythe say?” She asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“I couldn’t believe it. I was in a café enjoying some tea, and there he was, sat with that lovely young lady from the fair. I couldn’t help but overhear…”

Marilla scoffed.

“…I wasn’t eavesdropping; they were just talking very loud. Gilbert just ended their courtship, asked to remain friends. What is that boy thinking? I heard her family is very well off and extremely well connected. Seems a shame to throw it all away. Although she didn’t seem that upset, did she Marilla?”

Marilla didn’t reply. She was looking at Anne, with the softest expression of concern. _She knows_, Anne thought, _she knows how I feel about him_. A mother always knows.

Anne made her excuses and left the house, desperate for air and a place to think. She began to walk, not particularly concentrating on where she was going. Her thoughts were frantic, and she couldn’t make sense of how she was feeling. Relief? Confusion? Hope?

The early evening sun turned Avonlea to gold. Anne walked and walked and walked.

Could it be true? Had he done it for her?

Anne tried to push her thoughts down, not wanting to get her hopes up. There could be all sorts of reasons Gilbert had ended his courtship with Winifred that had nothing to do with Anne.

She hadn’t wanted him to reject Winnie for her sake. She wasn’t ready for marriage, and if Gilbert wanted that now, then she was not the right person.

But she loved him. And she could see a future with him. If he would wait.

Somehow, unsurprising really, she ended up at the Blythe house. And there he was, sat on the porch, in a soft cream shirt and slacks. He had been waiting for her.

It was too late to turn and run, so Anne found herself walking through the gate and up the path, he rose and joined her halfway.

“Anne.”

“Hello. I was just…” she trailed off.

His expression was so earnest, and his eyes so full of wonder. It left her heart thumping in her chest.

“Walking?” Gilbert finished.

She nodded.

They stood, both unsure of what to say. Here it was again – the things unsaid, the weight.

_Dancing. Leaning. “Just one thing”. And now, a broken courtship._

“Would you mind if I joined you?” It was almost a whisper.

They ended up in his orchard. Anne hadn’t seen it up close before. She had seen it from afar but never dared exploring it. She had snuck into everyone else’s lands as part of her adventures but never the Blythe orchard. Somehow, being in the orchard uninvited would feel like trespassing, as if she had walked into Gilbert’s own bedroom and opened all of the drawers. No, the Blythe orchard had always felt off-limits to her.

But now, Gilbert had invited her in. They wove between the trees in silence, all the things unsaid still between them. Anne brushed her hands along the bark and ran them through the leaves. They passed Bash who was sat in the shade with Dellie. He looked surprised to see her and threw a very confused look to Gilbert which Anne pretended she didn’t see.

They kept walking, deeper and deeper into the trees, barely saying anything.

Gilbert commented on the pleasantness of the light. Anne agreed.

Anne commented on the redness of the apples. Gilbert agreed.

_Things unsaid…_

“I’m not going to marry Winnie.”

_… perhaps not anymore._

Anne schooled her expression, but her heart soared. Her dreams recently had consisted of a recurring scene in which she sat in a church and watched Gilbert promising himself to another for all eternity. She’d woken up each time, sweaty and out of breath, close to screaming. She had assumed it would shortly become a reality.

“She’s not the right person. I know that now.”

“The Sorbonne?”

He shook his head, with a little laugh, “Miss Stacey has opened my eyes to other options closer to home. I’ve written to Emily Oak, for instance.”

Anne smiled, “Gilbert, that sounds wonderful.”

“It won’t be Queens but… I’ll be in Canada, and I won’t be making the wrong decision.”

“It sounds like you’ve got your future all figured out.”

“Most of it… And what about you?”

“Queens awaits me. I’m leaving in under two weeks.”

“You’ll be in good company. I hear Diana has convinced her parents to let her stay.”

“Paris is not the place to be after all… for either of my kindred spirits. Half the class will be there, in fact.”

He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck – a nervous tick she had noticed.

“I’ll be going to Charlottetown soon, and onwards to Toronto. Could I accompany you? Not as an escort, of course, you wouldn’t need that.”

Anne blushed and nodded, “yes, I suppose we could travel together.”

They kept walking. The sun was beginning to set above the trees, and Anne was afraid she would have to return home soon without mustering the courage to talk to him properly, but he got their first…

“Anne… a few weeks ago I said that you were holding me back, that is not what I meant, really. You don’t hold me back; you push me forward… to better things… to go where my passions lead me.”

Anne couldn’t help but smile, remembering saying something quite similar to him a couple of years ago.

“I’m going to Toronto, and then I will come back here, at least for a while because…”

He trailed off and stopped walking. Anne continued. Taking one step, and then another. Not quite brave enough to turn and face him.

“… I told you when the right person comes along I’ll know. I’ve always known, I was just scared and confused and worried they might not feel the same way but…”

Anne stopped. She held her breath and turned around to face him. The golden sunlight was on him, and he alight. _She loved him, she loved him, she loved him._

“Gilbert I–“

“–It will always be you, Anne.”

An unfamiliar joy overcame her. She felt tears well in her eyes, she looked down in an attempt to hide them. A part of her felt so embarrassed that she felt so strongly for him.

Gilbert took two strides forward and gently reached for her hands, taking them in his.

“Anne, please say something.”

She looked into his eyes. For once, she truly had nothing to say. So she kissed him instead.

He staggered back, a sound of surprise escaped him, but Anne clung to him to keep them upright. In turn, he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly, kissing her back.

Anne began to laugh, pulling her face away. Gilbert’s eyes glistened with tears. She could see the cogs turning in his head, his eyebrows quirking; soon, he was laughing too.

Anne gripped his arms, and he didn’t let go of her waist. They stood together, laughing and giddy, their foreheads pressed together. The anxiety of all the things unsaid between them melted away. 

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote and rewrote the ending several times and was really unsure whether to put the kiss in or not. I don't think they'll kiss, I don't think their relationship will quite get there this series (but maybe that's me trying to not get my hopes up)  
However, I do think it will end with Gilbert expressing himself a bit more clearly, hence the 'it will always be you, Anne'
> 
> Thanks gang, come participate in group therapy every Sunday on tumblr with me @homerically


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